Organic Farming Bill Reaches PA House

"This bill would be a major step forward on achieving two objectives -- making farming more profitable and improving the environment," he said.

On Tuesday, the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee approved Kessler's bipartisan legislation (H.B. 2347) that would provide temporary financial aid to farmers who want to convert to organic agriculture.

Participation would be entirely voluntary.

"This would help to preserve farmland. Organic food is the fastest-growing sector of the food industry and provides a net return to farmers much higher than for conventionally raised farm products," Kessler said.

"In addition, all Pennsylvanians would benefit from being able to buy food produced close to home -- local food requires much less fuel to get to market than out-of-state or foreign products," Kessler added."

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